New Hospital Owner In Jersey City To Shut Facility Permanently

JERSEY CITY, NJ — Three months after the new owners of a hospital in Jersey City announced that they would close the facility but keep the Emergency Room open, they said on Thursday that they will close that, too.

Hudson Regional Health CEO Nizar Kifaieh had said in mid-November that his company, which owns four hospitals in Hudson County, had submitted a certificate to the state to permanently close the 153-year-old Heights University Hospital due to lack of state funding.

Heights University Hospital is located in Jersey City's Heights neighborhood, just up the Palisade hills from Hoboken.

The company, which initially owned one hospital in Secaucus, took over the recently renamed Christ Hospital in September, as well as hospitals in Hoboken and Bayonne. The takeover of the three facilities was part of bankruptcy proceedings.

Officials said at a press conference in November that they planned to continue operating the Emergency Room in the Heights Hospital, as well as a nearby medical building that they own. A spokesperson said at the time, "HRH will continue to work with local and state officials to figure out how what the next steps are in keeping healthcare in the Heights."

But on Thursday, a union representing medical workers said they had been told that the Emergency Room would close Saturday night.

"Hudson Regional Health has notified their employees of their intent to close Christ Hospital, renamed Heights University Hospital, by 7:30 p.m. on Saturday," said Michael Allen, a spokesperson for the Health Professionals and Allied Employees' union. "This is the latest in a series of unlawful and unconscionable actions taken by HRH as they abandon their promise to provide healthcare for the people of Jersey City."

Late on Thursday, a spokesperson for HRH confirmed the closure.

HRH Responds

"Combined with a variety of challenges including a very low utilization of the Emergency Department, lack of sufficient funding from the state, and in an effort to prevent further multi-million dollar losses from jeopardizing care in Secaucus, Bayonne and Hoboken, leadership last night informed the New Jersey Department of Health of its intention to suspend services as of Saturday, Feb. 28," said Vijay Chaudhuri.

He added that there's a chance they could hold off.

"This morning, Mayor [James] Solomon and Jersey City elected officials requested that HRH make every effort to keep the Heights Emergency Department open for the immediate future, understanding the financial impact to the system," he said. "HRH is currently evaluating the feasibility of this request with the NJDOH and all stakeholders."

Three council members in Jersey City, including one representing the Heights neighborhood, released a statement in response to the news.

'Local Emergency'

Council members David Brooks, Thomas Zuppa, and Jake Ephros, who represent wards B, C, and D in the western parts of the city (away from the waterfront), said, "This decision will hit hardest in the neighborhoods and households that already face the greatest barriers to care: low-income families, seniors, people with disabilities, residents with chronic conditions, and immigrants and mixed-status families who may already be reluctant to seek care until a situation becomes dire."

They characterized the possible closure as a "local emergency" for their wards.

"It will also strain first responders and neighboring hospitals across Hudson County as patient volume and transport times rise," they said.

Jersey City Times, which first reported the potential closure on Thursday, had reported last month that HRH was fined for closing the hospital prior to receiving state approval.

Months Of Concerns

City officials had been concerned for months that HRH would close the hospital to build housing. The hospital and its auxiliary buildings sit on land with panoramic views of the Manhattan skyline.

HRH has said that the hospital's finances were in a precarious state. Officials and health care workers have argued that HRH knew of the scope of the issues when a judge had allowed HRH to take over the three hospitals back in August.

The city of Hoboken has already floated a potential plan to build residences around its own hospital in order to keep it financially viable.

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